One of the baddest beasts of the late cretaceous period — its name means "monster murderer" — is coming to Asheville, but don't worry, its handler is an experienced paleontologist.

Former Asheville resident John Hankla travels the country searching for dinosaur bones. He'll present two specimens on at 3 p.m. Saturday at Colburn Earth Sciene Museum. In addition to the aforementioned monster murderer, Teratophoneus curriei, he'll bring the bones of a herbivorous, horned creature, Kosmoceratops richardsoni. The skeletons of each dinosaur are connected to give viewers the impression of what the creatures were actually like.

Amber Fischer, director of educational services at the museum, says she expects big things — literally. "He has brought giant fossils before," she said. "It does sound like a lot of set up, but he was like, 'I can put them together in like 15 minutes.'"

According to Fischer, Hankla is just returning from a dig in New Mexico, where he uncovered a behemoth dinosaur head. She expects he'll discuss that find during his Saturday presentation.

Admission to the event, which takes place in Pack Place downtown, is $6.50 for adults and $5.50 for children age 6 and older. Children 5 and younger can attend for free. For more information, visit colburnmuseum.org.

Read or Share this story: http://avlne.ws/1IdnUP2

From The USA TODAY NETWORK

These sites are part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Their content is produced independently from our newsrooms.